About the Department

Our Civic and Community Engagement Department is dedicated to meet the diverse needs of the membership. The following outlines the many ways the CCE seeks to fulfill the IBEW mission to strengthen, organize, and serve the membership and the community at large.

HONORARY IBEW MEMBERSHIPS
The IBEW gives this prestigious honor only to individuals who have shown an exceptional cooperative spirit or whose record of service to the IBEW is extraordinary and praiseworthy. Recipients receive a Certificate of Appreciation upon approval of an Officer or Vice President.

HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS
The strength of the IBEW is in an informed, active and diverse membership. Greater opportunities now exist to organize and represent women and people of color. The CCE addresses ways to encourage greater sensitivity, awareness, participation and leadership development for all members. Training workshops for union leaders and members are available on issues affecting the changing workplace and our local unions.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Community engagement is the cornerstone of improving the IBEW’s standing in our neighborhoods, opening new networking and business opportunities and increasing our memberships’ sense of pride, fulfillment and solidarity in the union. It is cultivated by developing partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices. It is also accomplished through the process by which organizations and individuals build ongoing, permanent relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision for the benefit of a community.

RENEW
The mission of the Reach out and Engage Next-gen Electrical Workers (RENEW) initiative is to inspire the next generation of IBEW workers to become active in their local union by focusing on issues important to younger workers, providing education about the IBEW and the labor movement, and fostering relationships with members and local union leadership. RENEW is an IBEW-wide initiative dedicated to creating opportunities for members ages 35 years and younger and helping them develop the skills necessary to become active in the local union and play a role in shaping its future. The goals of this program are to educate the next generation of workers about the benefits of the IBEW, to provide a space for younger members to discuss issues relevant to their workplace and community, and to encourage their participation in programs that are focused on strengthening the local union and the labor movement.